I took a nicotine blood test yesterday but only stopped smoking 6 days ago. I'm terrified that I will not pass my test. What will happen if it comes back positive?

I am not sure. Are you self-pay or is your insurance paying?

I know with my insurance it is a requirement to be nicotine-free for 6 months, so if you don't pass the nicotine test the surgery is canceled.

If you are self-pay it likely will not matter and they will go ahead with the surgery, unless it is a specific requirement that your surgeon has.

in my case it was the surgeon's requirement. It wasn't mentioned in the insurance requirements. I quit smoking 30 years ago, so it wasn't an issue for me, but in class we were told we had to stop smoking and could never smoke again.

I just googled how long it takes nicotine to leave your bloodstream. According to WebMD, it usually takes 1-3 days.

Edited September 26, 20232 yr by catwoman7

I've never smoked, but my surgeon AND my insurance both required that smoking be completely stopped. My insurance said 3 months and my surgeon said 6 weeks. This is what I found as to why: "Nicotine can adversely influence the cardiovascular system, leading to irregular or unstable blood pressure (hemodynamic instability) under general anesthesia. Furthermore, the effects of nicotine have been proven to reduce blood flow, increase heart rate, and induce hypertension. Maintaining a good blood flow is important both during and after surgery, which is why nicotine is so dangerous to surgical patients."

if they blood-tested you, it's for a reason. I know a lot of pharmacies sell nicotine urine tests alongside the drug tests; you may just want to start drinking lots and lots of water and home test in a few days to see where you're at.

https://samabariatrics.com/quit-smoking-before-bariatric-surgery/

You might find this paper interesting: https://asmbs.org/app/uploads/2021/10/PIIS1550728921004238.pdf

I went to the Mayo, which has a stop smoking facility (Betty Ford for cigarettes). They got me on nicotine replacement, which allowed me to quit. Some of the medications, like Wellbutrin, made me feel crazy.

I stopped smoking years ago, without pain.

Unfortunately the medical group who wrote the above article is an outlier. AFAiK, Medicare doesn't want any nicotine, even pharmaceutical. Fact is, the Pharma version is pricey in the extreme, although the patent expired.

I loved smoking. I only stopped b/c I was told I would stroke out. Drooling in a wheelchair was not my idea of a good future. Otherwise, I'd still be smoking -- unfiltered ciggies, cigars from a small island off the Florida coast and roll 'em ups, using Turkish, Dutch shag, and other things-- Virginia tobacco, which I used to buy in a can, was really good.

Stop if you can. Not preaching, sympathetic, beoyotch of an addictive substance, many of which were easier to quit than tobacco. It's insidious.

Edited September 27, 20232 yr by Deep6

Hello! I can't give up smoking. it calms me down?

My surgeons required to pass the nicotine test as well or surgery would be postponed. Sometimes it depends on your anesthesiologist so they will at least be prepared to know you still have nicotine in your system.

On 9/28/2023 at 8:36 AM, Lina Klark said:

Hello! I can't give up smoking. it calms me down?

It seems like a lot of surgeons require you to be nicotine-free at the start of the program and commit to remaining so for life. I know mine does. If I were to be found with nicotine in my system at any part, the process would stop, and I would have to start over from the beginning after I quit. I know the risk of ulcers in your stomach, particularly with gastric bypass, is really high if you smoke, and there is something like a 20 times higher risk of having complications from the anesthesia, which is why they're so strict on it.